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Excitement abounds across Marshalltown Community School District as we kick off the 2023-24 school year. We are welcoming back familiar faces and warmly greeting new faces. Some of those new faces are new teaching staff and we are thrilled that they chose to teach, learn, and grow at Marshalltown CSD.
Marshalltown CSD believes deeply in providing our teaching staff with opportunities to learn, grow, and develop their professional skills throughout their career with us. For our newest teachers, one way we support this goal is through our mentor program. The mentor program provides a differentiated support system for our newest teaching colleagues to find their footing and realize their potential. Our goal is for our new teachers to want to stay and to reach their full potential.
Beginning a career in education can be daunting and national statistics suggest about 30% of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. Our mentor program is structured to anticipate the challenges new teachers typically face. We provide opportunities to learn and develop through these challenges to find success.
Each new teacher is carefully matched with a mentor teacher who has the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to guide the new teacher through their first years of teaching. Mentor teachers apply for this teacher leader role and are selected for their strong instructional practices and leadership attributes. They build a relationship of trust with their mentee that encourages vulnerability to celebrate areas of strength and identify opportunities for growth.
Through this relationship, the mentor teacher helps the new teacher to reflect and set goals for growth. They are able to observe each other teaching and learn from these experiences to improve instructional practices. The mentor teacher is also there to celebrate success, motivate when things don't always go as planned, and be a compassionate listener.
New teachers are also provided with professional learning sessions where we study high-impact instructional practices and plan for applying this learning in their classrooms. We continually reflect on current reality, opportunities for growth, and goals for improved teaching. In addition, we emphasize the importance of personal well-being and work-life balance to reduce burnout and improve retention.
We are excited to welcome approximately 40 new teaching staff across the district to the Bobcat family so far this school year. Of those new teachers, seventeen are first-year teachers which means this is their very first teaching job. We are positioned and ready to support the growth and development of all of them. We hope to celebrate their successes for many years to come.
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Julie Thede is the Curriculum
and Professional Development Leader for Mentoring and Specialist Areas for Marshalltown Community School District. She can be reached at jthede@marshalltown.k12.ia.us. The district educates around 5,300 students to have the skills for a rapidly changing world. Learn more by visiting
www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us.